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Open or Closed Ear headphones?

K

KreeSholva

n00b
Joined
Feb 16, 2011
Messages
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I am in the market for a new headset/headphone-mic combo and have been beating my head reading all the other threads about the best one for pc gaming/music. I think I have it boiled down to a AD700 or HD 555 modded to HD 595 specs, since I don't think I can push myself to spring for the expensive MMX300 and the PC350/PC360 have mixed reviews; though, I'm still considering other alternatives.

I noticed that many high end headsets are closed ear design, and a lot of people recommend open ear design for positional accuracy. Will closed headphones really distort positional and musical accuracy that much?

I'm concerned with the open sets letting too much sound out of them. I will be using these at home, so some bleed out if fine, but if I'm gaming late at night, I don't want people in the same room that might be sleeping or watching tv to be disturbed by my headphone noise. I also certainly would not like to have the sound bleed into a mic I would mod onto a set. Open sets apparent lack of bass might be an issue as well; though, I'm sure they would blow my current plantronics 355s out of the water.

Which is better overall? Am I missing any pros and cons between the two? Am I being too paranoid about how much sound bleeds from open sets? I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions on this topic.
 
I can tolerate some sound leaking, but I don't want someone 12 feet away to hear the footsteps of a bfbc2 player coming up from behind to murk me, heh. I also could see myself not wanting to be completely shut off from the outside, ie. not hearing someone pounding on my front door. I have sadly only come across one pair of "semi-open" headphones, which the lack of that category amazes me.
 
there are plenty of great semi-open units including several that i'd recommend over the sennheisers, especially for playing games. open-back won't bother other people unless the volume is much louder than it should be. the AD700 is great but if you're worried about it being too open, the JVC ha-rx 900 or AKG k240 are both good semi-open options.
 
DT-880's and DT-990's from Beyerdynamic are open/semi-open, respectively, and are both excellent.

I love my 990's, but would recommend the 880's for most people. They rock.
 
My HD595's are open, and while sound does leak out of them, I would never wake up someone unless they were right next to me in bed. Since I use them on the computer, and since my fiance snores, I don't have a problem. :p

Your mileage may vary...
 
i love using closed back headphones, isolating out all external noises so i have zero distractions to pull me out of the gaming/music experience. different preferences i suppose. plus my office shares a wall with our living room, and our TV is on the other side. i don't need to hear what's on today's Oprah show while i'm gaming :)
 
Another vote for the DT-990. Mine is the Pro version, which means little to nothing compared to non-Pro. They're the best gaming phones I've ever used. They're "open" and provide a fantastic 3D sound field.
 
Thanks for the feedback. From the read posts on here, it seems that open headphones don't bleed out as much as I was worrying about. My main concern would be sound bleeding onto a mic mod that I would add to the cans, like the LVA-7330 mic. Anyone ever experience bleeding into mics?

demografik said:
there are plenty of great semi-open units including several that i'd recommend over the sennheisers, especially for playing games. open-back won't bother other people unless the volume is much louder than it should be. the AD700 is great but if you're worried about it being too open, the JVC ha-rx 900 or AKG k240 are both good semi-open options.
Click to expand...

I completely overlooked the AKG brand. I will have to consider that line as well. Now to decide from AKG, sennheiser, beyerdynamic, or audio technica. Ugh, so many options. Some of the beyerdynamics are a rather expensive, I would spend that much if they were really that much better, but if not, i'll prob end up spending 100-200 on something almost as/as good.
 
KreeSholva said:
Thanks for the feedback. From the read posts on here, it seems that open headphones don't bleed out as much as I was worrying about. My main concern would be sound bleeding onto a mic mod that I would add to the cans, like the LVA-7330 mic. Anyone ever experience bleeding into mics?
Click to expand...

I've used open headphones with mics before and never experienced bleeding. I think you'd have to have the volume up pretty high before you'd get bleeding into a mic.
 
I will chime in simply to say that I love my closed headphones (AH-D5000). I've never heard high-end open phones, though - only the HD595, which is no comparison to the AH-D5000 at all, open or closed or not. I'd have to hear a fancy open headphone to see what they can really do for me.
 
KreeSholva said:
Thanks for the feedback. From the read posts on here, it seems that open headphones don't bleed out as much as I was worrying about. My main concern would be sound bleeding onto a mic mod that I would add to the cans, like the LVA-7330 mic. Anyone ever experience bleeding into mics?



I completely overlooked the AKG brand. I will have to consider that line as well. Now to decide from AKG, sennheiser, beyerdynamic, or audio technica. Ugh, so many options. Some of the beyerdynamics are a rather expensive, I would spend that much if they were really that much better, but if not, i'll prob end up spending 100-200 on something almost as/as good.
Click to expand...

i generally don't recommend someone spend much over ~$100 before going through at least a couple of <$100 units. the differences are very subtle at that point and you'll really want to get used to hearing "decent" sound before you'll appreciate it.
 
demografik said:
i generally don't recommend someone spend much over ~$100 before going through at least a couple of <$100 units. the differences are very subtle at that point and you'll really want to get used to hearing "decent" sound before you'll appreciate it.
Click to expand...

I think that is probably good advice. I just don't think I can put myself up to spending $200+ for cans just yet. Going for an open set that I can get a couple years use out of. Leaning HD 555 over the AD700 for a few reasons. I want there to be at least some bass, something the AD700 lack from what I read, and also the shape. I have tried on oval shaped cans and they seem to feel much more natural than the standard circle form, I have read some complain about how the AD700 sit on the jaw and some people's earlobes. I have a normal sized head, so I don't think the HD 555 will be to tight. I know that the AD700's sound stage is supposed to be superior, but coming from my current cans, plantronics 355, either will probably be an amazing change. Still not sure though, reading many forums most lean toward AD700, but some go toward HD 555, quite a hot debate it seems.
 
KreeSholva said:
I think that is probably good advice. I just don't think I can put myself up to spending $200+ for cans just yet. Going for an open set that I can get a couple years use out of. Leaning HD 555 over the AD700 for a few reasons. I want there to be at least some bass, something the AD700 lack from what I read, and also the shape. I have tried on oval shaped cans and they seem to feel much more natural than the standard circle form, I have read some complain about how the AD700 sit on the jaw and some people's earlobes. I have a normal sized head, so I don't think the HD 555 will be to tight. I know that the AD700's sound stage is supposed to be superior, but coming from my current cans, plantronics 355, either will probably be an amazing change. Still not sure though, reading many forums most lean toward AD700, but some go toward HD 555, quite a hot debate it seems.
Click to expand...

I have both, and I find the AD700s to be more comfortable for long-term use. I am sensitive to pressure on the top of my head, and the band on the HD555s presses on the top of my head more than the AD700s do.
 
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